16 Apr Divorce and what to consider
When getting divorced or separating from your long term partner there will be many things that will need to be carefully considered.
Divorce: the end of the marriage
Your divorce and your Family Law matter for are two completely separate processes. The divorce signifies he legal dissolution of a marriage by a court. Where as your Family Law property and parenting matter will deal with separating the parties finances and making orders for the future care of the children.
The courts will still hear your property and parenting case even when you are still married. It is important to note that there is a 12 month time limit after divorce to bring your application in a Family Law property matter .
Divorce is a relatively simple process. 12 months after final separation either party may submit the application for divorce. If the application is made by one party only, the application must then be served on the other party. The other party need not respond at all.
A date will then be set as to when the divorce will be processed (4-6 months currently).
If you don’t have children under 18 then you will not need to attend court or submit a plan for how these children will be cared for in the future.
Parenting: The future of your children
If there are children of the relationship then it is important that you have an agreement in place as to how the children will be cared for in the future.
There are many issues that need to be carefully considered before entering into an agreement about how the children will be cared for in the future. These may include:Where the children are to go to school?
How will the time with each parent be divided?
What happens in school holidays?
Who gets to be with the children on Christmas and Easter?
How will the care of the children fit in with our future work commitments?
Often both parties will have to make compromises to accommodate a situation that allows each other to play a role in the child’s upbringing. An experienced Family Law specialist will be able to identify potential problems in the proposed parenting arrangements and make suggestions of how these issues can be overcome.
If an agreement can be reached as to how the care of the children will be cared for going forward the parties should enter into consent orders.
Consent orders are orders drafted by your lawyers and signed by both parties. These are then handed up in court stamped and approved. Once this has been done then the orders are enforceable, meaning there can be repercussions for any party who does not follow them.
After many years experience of dealing with parenting matters, a qualified family law specialist can guide you past potential problems and lead you to an outcome that you and the children can happily live live with.
If parties cannot come to an agreement as to how to care for the children then you would need to go to court to ask a judge to make a decision about how the children should best be cared for in your situation.
Property: How will your assets be divided?
After many years of building a life together the a couple will have often developed an intertwined pool of assets.
Each party will have brought in different assets in the beginning of the relationship. During the relationship both parties would have made different financial and non-financial contributions to the asset pool. At the end of the relationship the pool needs to be divided between both parties.
When determining how property is to be property settlement there are a host of different factors that the court will consider.
There is a mutual duty to disclose your financial position in a Family Law property matter. It can often be the case that one party is less than willing to accurate depict their financial situation.
Experienced Family Law professionals can assist you in discovering exactly what the financial position the relationship is. This can include obtaining bank balances, pay slips and information on any other asset owned by the other party.
Once the financial position of the parties has been discovered, the next step is to assess how the assets will be divided. Your legal team will be able to provide you with helpful guidance as to what is a fair and reasonable division of the assets of the relationship.
Free consultation: Get advice early
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This obligation free consultation with the Sutherland Shires leading firm on Family Law is an opportunity that should not be missed.
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